Commencement Concert
We just got the recording from our Commencement Concert (Fledermaus and Tchaik 5). It's online - listen here - just click on the link for each movement. We totally rock! We sound pro! Enjoy!
- posted by Nicole @ 2:08 PM

 
The Fog of War
I've been waiting to see this movie since the first preview I saw of it. And (unlike Troy) I was not disappointed. I love Errol Morris (the director), we studied him in my film class last semester. This is one of the most brilliant films I've ever seen. The lessons of World War II and Vietnam as passed on by Robert McNamara are just as applicable today; his messages are profound and thought provoking, exploring the elements of war as well as human nature, and most importantly, human fallability. This is a movie that every American should watch. It's brilliant.
- posted by Nicole @ 12:05 AM

 
Home Again
I'm finally back home again after completing my freshman year at college> I can't believe it - it went by sooooooooo fast! Great classes, womderful professors, amazing people, incredible experiences - I loved every minute of it and wouldn't have traded any of it for the world. It's good to be back home with good food, friends, and my crazy family - I love you guys! Looking forward to relaxing and staring my summer reading. First up, a book that's been on my reading list forever: Prague by Arthur Phillips. Because there are so many books that I want to read, I'm thinking about doing simultaneous reading, one fiction and one non-fiction. Though I can't decide if my first non-fiction should be the new Tolkein bio I bought or Robert Cooper's Breaking of Naitons (a polsci/diplomacy thingey).

I can't wait to see Leah, Christian, Aunt JoAnn, and the not-so-baby baby this weekend! Hooray!!!
- posted by Nicole @ 11:54 PM

 
Last Night at Yale
It's the last night of my Freshman year at Yale. I'm leaving New Haven tomorrow afternoon to come home for the summer. Nick is going back to Texas (and then, later to China), which means I won't see him for three months. We were gonna stay up all night together (with the aid of Turkish coffee), but he fell asleep . . . quitter . . . so now it's just me, my Return of the King score and my blog. I really can't believe that this year is already over. The Commencement Ceremony was this morning - Yale's 303rd. It was pretty impressive. All the high brass came out for it - a whole lot of pomp and circumstance, and I don't mean the song. I got to go because I was playing with the band; we got to lead the procession into Old Campus (hehe, Handsome Dan - the Bulldog - got to march in the procession as well . . . so did Charles Hill, our diplomat in residence and best friend to Henry Kissinger). Old Campus was completely filled with people - over 14,000 in fact. Afterward, I gave Emily (my freshman counselor) the Harry Potter scarf I knitted for her - she loved it! It was an exciting day - pretty cool. But there's like nobody left here - everyone's gone. Caitlin, Nick and I went to this kinda sketchy Turkish place for dinner, and when we came back it was so eerie. Old Campus looks like the Wasteland and it's disturbingly quiet. But it really hasn't felt at all like Yale here since exams ended. It's an odd feeling. But I still don't really wanna leave it yet. But I get to see Al tomorrow (and Aunt Patti!) and that makes me happy, even though saying goodbye to Nick certainly won't.
- posted by Nicole @ 2:42 AM

 
Fledermaus and Tchaik 5
We just did our Commencement Concert for Saybrook, and it went really well - really intense! I can't wait to hear the recording. It's amazing how well it went, considering all the drama and near mutiny that's been brewing over the past week (too tired of bitching to go into detail; suffice to say it's been a bit tense around here). These two weeks weren't at all how I thought they were gonna be. But the concert was great nonetheless.

I also went to go see the Dramat's production of Man of La Mancha this afternoon - it was fabulous, what a great musical! Very moving! The guy who played Don Quixote was great - very lovable and genuine, not to mention a great voice. He totally rocked "Impossible Dream". The sets were really elaborate too. It's amazing what they put together in under two weeks!

Kristy from the Vineyard got married today - OH MY GOD! My friends are getting married, I'm not ready for this. Best wishes to her and her new hubby!
- posted by Nicole @ 9:58 PM

 
More frustration over Troy
I had to include this quote from the review of Troy in The Times (though, overall, "A.O. Scott" was much kinder than I): "Some moments may make you rue the existence of cinema, or at least of movies with sound, since the dialogue often competes with James Horner's score for puffed-up obviousness." The review also bashes the films obssession with its own immortality, and there are further diatribes directed at Mr. Horner.
- posted by Nicole @ 3:46 PM

 
Troy or The Most Disappointing Cinematic Experience of My Entire Life
Thank God they didn't blow Return of the King like they blew Troy. This film had so much potential. But not even all the gratuitous Brad Pitt nudity could save it. Because it sucked. The first 2 hours were horrible and I almost left. The last 45 minutes were only moderately redeeming. Like, 15 minutes into the film we're sailing for Troy, but we don't know if we like the Greeks or the Trojans, we have no background info on anyone - who they are, where they come from, nothing. And what are we gonna do for the next 2 1/2 hours? Senseless violence and gore. And not even artistic, digitally well-refined gore. Troy has all the characteristics of a bad B movie. First of all, the film itself looks grainy and gritty, almost like a primary, unrefined print, like they forgot to enhance the colors. So it looks old and dull without looking classic. The score completely sucks. Ex: you have this huge invasion fleet sailing for Troy to beat the pus out of the Trojans and you're playing sweeping love themes? James Horner, you suck. The acting left much to be desired. Brad Pitt - like my own beloved Tom Cruise - should stick to modern movies, he's just not a period actor. It was impossible to take him seriously when he delievered his lines. Orlando Bloom wasn't that good either. The only ones who were any good were the supporting and very very minor actors. Eric Bana (the Aussie who played the Hulk) who played Hector was awesome - he totally rocked, and stood head and shoulders above everything else. His wife Andromache was good too. So was Peter O'Toole as Priam, but that's because he's Peter O'Toole. The scene where he goes to Achilles to beg for Hector's body is soooooo moving (no thanks to Brad Pitt and his pathetic excuse for grieving). Sean Bean (who plays Boromir in LOTR) was also great as Odysseus, but he may have been on screen for all of 5 mintures total. The chick who played Helen had no grace or poise, and seemed more like a young, promiscuous girl than a queen. The characters of this film were just not likable. It's acceptable to have bad guys, but you cannot have a film with no likable characters in it. The audience has to associate with some one, and they want to associate with a particular side. Troy does not allow them to do either. And the special effects were not even all that impressive. There were so many things wrong with this film, I can't even name them all, and have forgotten half of them because they were so numerous. The good parts were few and far between. Most of them involved Hector (the battle between Hector and Achilles was pretty good and so were the scenes between Hector and Paris (Bloom) - they played the part of brothers well). So, I suggest that you don't waste your time with this one. If you still want to see Brad Pitt naked, watch Fight Club instead.
- posted by Nicole @ 6:40 PM

 
Packing and Moving
Wow, this whole "pack your life up in a box, move it down four flights of stairs, halfway across campus and then up three flights of stairs" thing really sucks. It's gonna take me forever to unearth my bed to sleep in tonight. Never have I wanted my father more than on this day. Sooooooooooo sore. (Leah and Christian, I have a newfound respect for the last three months of your lives)
- posted by Nicole @ 11:51 PM

 
'Twas the Night before my English Exam . . .
All right, if W. can graduate with a C average and still end up running the country, then it's ok for me to get a B on my English exam. So there.


- posted by Nicole @ 10:20 PM

 
Nat Haz
Just killed my natural hazards exam. Just one left . . .
- posted by Nicole @ 3:42 PM

 
French Exam
Oh yeah, and I totally rocked my french exam today - it was sick!
- posted by Nicole @ 11:49 PM

 
Treatise on the "Bow Tie"
So I bought Nick a bow tie for his birthday (this Thursday). But, like, a real one - not a pre-tied one. And of course I haven't the slightest idea of how to tie the damn thing, and neither does he. So I had Dave (trombone player who lives in the basement . . . hehe, doesn't that sound silly?) show me how to do it. And while I was there, I reflected with one of his suitemates how knowing how to tie a bow tie is cultural capital (thank you, sociology 131). Think about it - it really is. It's totally an example of cultural capital. This was my revelation.
- posted by Nicole @ 11:47 PM